Moon's Call (Sample)

Chapter Nineteen

Medea slumped down on the stool Theresa had vacated and placed Berry on her lap and Elaine turned to look at her. "Now, where have you been? I don't even know when you have been missing for hours but when you return, it just suddenly becomes apparent to me that you haven't been in a place."

"I was in the woods." Medea replied.

"You should be trying to get hooked not gallivanting off on your own." Elaine chided her and accepted Berry who had crawled from Medea's lap into hers.

"Elaine, you know that I don't do well in feasts..." Medea whined.

"Chasing off suitors isn't an ideal thing for you... Every Lycan needs a mate!"

Medea smiled. "I have been doing very fine without one and I even survive my heat seasons without wanting to devour any man."  She smiled smugly.

Elaine snorted and turned to look at Theresa again. "You are supposed to be teaching her how to court, you know?"

"One, I have never courted before even though I know how it goes and two, Astrophel hardly gives anyone some time with her so don't blame me."

Elaine shook her head and heaved a weary sigh and avoided Berry who was trying to put a mushroom in her mouth. "It's all confusing anyway."

Medea smiled. "We can't deny that Astrophel and Theresa are so into each other... Wedding bells will ring soon." She chuckled

Elaine shot her a look. "You know we can't let that happen, that's completely going against the Queen's orders."

"Yea..." Medea said with a sigh and rolled her eyes, then brightened up and suddenly said "Why not marry them off secretly?... The queen doesn't have to know."

"Medea!" Elaine called in disbelief. "Don't you mention such a thing again, you should be concerned about finding your own mate instead... Like Andrew not talking such nonsense."

Medea groaned in frustration. "What's simply not interested in the gods' language?" Elaine ignored her. "Andrew is all strong and handsome but I love my freedom to roam in the woods better."

Elaine snorted again and returned to look at Theresa  who was now somehow in a serious conversation with Andrew and they kept occasionally glancing Elaine's and Medea's way. Medea noticed too and pursed her lips, frowning in irritation. "Could they be gossiping about me?"

Elaine shrugged a shoulder. "I wouldn't call it gossiping, he's simply asking Theresa to help talk to you."

Medea gave Elaine a weird look. "How come you can hear what they are saying and I cannot?"

Elaine glanced at Medea and replied. "What happened to the part where I'm a better reader of countenance and body language?"

"Why can't he just do the wooing himself instead of sending Theresa?" She asked, sounding annoyed.

"Because, you lack the ability to listen to reason, Medea. Andrew has tried to get and win your attention and affection for years but all you do is turn the blind eye to him."

"That's because I don't want a mate!" Medea said in defiance. "There are a lot of young girls my age all around here, he should pick one and stop bothering me." With this, she got up, transformed into a wolf and darted off.

Elaine groaned a bit in frustration and turned to look back at the couple only to discover that they had stopped dancing and she realized that Andrew was staring towards the direction Medea had taken which meant that he had seen her leave. Elaine scanned the crowd for any sign of Theresa and noticed that she was now standing beside Astrophel and they were chatting and laughing away.